MI’s first-ever playing XI in IPL: Where are they now?

There are a few really surprising names whom you might have never heard of when it comes to the Mumbai Indians in the cash-rich IPL. Being the most successful team in the history of IPL, they are the five-time title winners. The fortunes of the franchise changed when Rohit Sharma was handed over the captaincy duties. They have had many legendary players in their team like Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Zaheer Khan, Shane Bond, and Mitchell Johnson. They have an enviable rivalry against Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai Indians have defeated CSK four times in the finals of IPL (2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019). Mumbai Indians are also known for having an unbreakable relationship with nail-biting matches. They have played some very close encounters with different teams in the league. The icon player for Mumbai Indians in the league was Sachin Tendulkar. Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar was not a part of the first-ever playing 11 in the IPL. They played their first-ever game on 20th April 2008 at Wankhede Stadium against Royal Challengers Bangalore. MI faced a defeat in their first game by five wickets in the last over. The first playing 11 of Mumbai Indians was a little different from the current set of players. Let’s try to find out what are they doing now 1. Luke Ronchi (WK) Luke Ronchi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Luke Ronchi opened the batting for Mumbai Indians in their first game. He played international cricket both for Australia and New Zealand. He made his debut for Australia in ODIs and T20Is in 2008. After 2008 he never got a chance to play for Australia. He decided to move to his birth nation that was New Zealand. He was in the Kiwi squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. He scored eight runs in MI’s first game. He played for MI in the first two seasons and after that, he was never picked in the league’s auctions. He announced his retirement from international cricket in June 2017. In April 2019, he was appointed as the wicket-keeping and fielding coach until the completion of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. He is currently looking for coaching opportunities. 2. Sanath Jayasuriya Sanath Jayasuriya. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images) Sanath Jayasuriya played for the Sri Lankan cricket team for 15 years at the highest level. The Sri Lankan veteran co-opened the innings with Luke Ronchi in MI’s first game. He was one of the four overseas players who played in that game for Mumbai Indians. He scored a quickfire 29 in that game and gave his team a good start and his side ended up with a fighting total of 165. He represented Mumbai Indians in the first two seasons of the Indian Premier League. He played his last international game for Sri Lanka in 2011. He served as a Member of Parliament for Mantara District from 2010 to 2015. He is currently a Cricket Coach of the Mulgrave Cricket Club, a third-tier cricket club in Melbourne. 3. Dominic Thornley Dominic Thornely. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images) Dominic Thornley was a name in MI’s first-ever playing 11 which you could never guess. He was an Australian cricketer. He was a part of MI’s first-ever playing 11 in IPL. He batted at number three for his side. He got out without scoring in that game. He played just one IPL season and got released by MI ahead of the 2009 IPL auction. He never got a chance to play international cricket. He was a popular name in the Australian domestic cricket circuit. He used to play for New South Wales. He also played for Surrey and Hampshire in English Country cricket. He also played a few Big Bash League seasons for Sydney Sixers. His performances were decent but luck was not in his favor. Currently, he is enjoying his retirement life. 4. Robin Uthappa Kolkata Knight Riders’ Robin Uthappa in action. (Photo by IANS) Robin Uthappa was a member of the winning Indian team in the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup. Then, he was considered one of the most talented youngsters in the Indian cricket circuit. The Karnataka batter was the top scorer for Mumbai Indians in their first-ever match scoring a good-looking 48. He batted at number four in MI’s first-ever playing 11. He played only one season for Mi and got released by them ahead of the 2009 IPL auction. He later played for RCB, Pune Warriors India, KKR, Rajasthan Royals, and CSK. He was the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2014. He last played IPL for CSK in IPL 2021. He has changed his domestic team from Karnataka to Kerala. He is still an active cricketer and will be a part of the mega IPL auction 2022. 5. Pinal Shah Pinal Shah. (Photo Source: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images) Pinal Shah was a part of MI’s first-ever playing 11. He batted at number five and scored 19 runs in that game against RCB. He made his FC debut for Baroda in the 2005-06 Ranji Trophy season. He played the first two seasons for Mumbai Indians in the league. He was a quality wicket-keeper and a right-handed batter. He played his last IPL game in 2011 for Rajasthan Royals. He played alongside Rohit Sharma in the 2006 ICC Under-19 World Cup. He never got a chance to play for India despite having good numbers in domestic cricket both in FC and List-A cricket and T20s as well. He had a long 16 years career playing for Baroda. He retired from all forms of the game in October 2021 at an age of 33. 6. Abhishek Nayyar Abishek Nayar. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images) Abhishek Nayyar batted at number six for Mumbai Indians in their first game. He scored 20 runs in that game. He played 14 games in the season scoring 206 runs. He played FC cricket for Mumbai from 2005 to 2018 and then moved to Puducherry to play in the 2018 season. He was a part of MI for the first three seasons before getting released after 2011. He played three ODIs for India in 2009. He also played for Punjab Kings, Pune Warriors India, and Rajasthan Royals in IPL. He played his last IPL game in 2015. He has worked with many cricketers as a mentor, trainer, and coach. After IPL 2018, he was named mentor and head coach of KKR academy to guide youngsters during the off-season. Currently, he is the assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. 7. Shaun Pollock Shaun Pollock. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images) The South African legend was one of the four overseas players to take the field for RCB. He has captained the Proteas in all three formats of cricket. He was part of Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season of IPL and he even captained the teams in a few games. That was his first and last IPL season as that was the last year of his cricket career. He batted at number seven and scored 28 runs off 12 balls. He played 108 Tests and 303 ODIs for South Africa. He retired from all forms of the game in January 2008. In November 2021, he was included in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the best fast bowlers and all-rounders of all time. He now works as a commentator for various sports channels covering cricket. 8. Harbhajan Singh (C) Harbhajan Singh. (Photo by Sattish Bate/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Harbhajan Singh was the first captain to lead Mumbai Indians. He played for MI for a long time from 2008 to 2017. He won three IPL titles with Mumbai Indians. Later, he was also given full-time captaincy of the team. He is one of India’s finest spinners to have played the game. After having associated with Mi for a long time he was released by MI ahead of the 2019 auction and got picked by CSK. He also played for KKR in the league. He batted at number eight for MI in that game and scored eight runs. With the ball, he picked two wickets for 36 runs. He played so many matches for India and was a part of the 2007 and 2011 world cup winning teams of India. He announced his retirement from all forms of the game in December 2021 after having a glorious career. 9. Musavir Khote Ball & bat. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Maybe you are coming across this name for the first time. Musavir Khote was a part of their first-ever playing 11. He didn’t get a chance to bat or bowl in the game. He played four games for Mumbai Indians in that season and that was his last IPL season as well. He was a batting all-rounder who could bowl right-arm medium pace. He has played very little cricket at recognized levels and so is he very less-known. He made his domestic cricket debut for Mumbai in the Ranji one-dayers in 2006. He later switched to Railways to get more opportunities in the 2007-08 season. He played some hard-hitting cameos for Mumbai in the inter-state T20s in April 2007 which were quite impressive. Those performances were convincing enough for Mumbai Indians to sign him for the 2008 IPL season. He announced retirement from cricket in 2011 at the age of 30. He is away from the limelight after his retirement. 10. Ashish Nehra Ashish Nehra. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ashish Nehra was also a part of Mumbai Indians first-ever playing 11. After the first season, he got released by Mumbai Indians. He later played for Delhi Capitals, Pune Warriors India, CSK, and SRH. He played for the Indian Cricket Team for 18 long years between 1999 and 2017. He played 17 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 27 T20Is for India. He played his last IPL games in 2017 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He announced his retirement from all forms of the game in November 2017. He was appointed as bowling coach by Royal Challengers Bangalore in before the 2018 IPL season and was with them in 2019 too. He is currently working as a commentator and cricket expert for various sports and media channels. 11. Dhawal Kulkarni Dhawal Kulkarni. (Photo Source: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/GettyImages) The skillful Indian fast bowler started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2008 and was given a chance in the first match itself. The pacer’s main ability is to make the best out of the new ball. He is a strong pillar in Mumbai domestic teams for a long time. He made his FC debut in 2007 for Mumbai. He made his India debut in 2014 and has played 12 ODIs and two T20Is for India. He picked two wickets for 19 runs in the first game of MI. He first played for Mumbai Indians for the first six seasons till 2013 then again made a comeback to the team in 2020. In between, he played for Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lions. He has played 92 IPL games and has 86 wickets to his name in those games. He will be a part of the mega IPL auction in 2022. Currently, he is 33 years old and eyeing to make a comeback to the Indian cricket team.

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